Hide and Seek
by IronEclipse
Summary: Nanao moaned and fell to the ground helplessly. Whips of grass tenderly brushed against the torn remains of her shihakusho. Blood poured from her wounds heavily. Tears of pain and betrayal slipped down the contours of her face. Nanao was broken. She lay upon the damp earth in pieces. She had no saviour. She was alone. -Chapter One.


_"The brightest flame casts the darkest shadow."  
~George R.R. Martin_

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_**Chapter One**_

**Chasing An Illusion**

The wind was vicious. It rushed through the night air, disturbing everything in its path. Trees swayed and trembled dangerously. Limbs creaked loudly and the faint whisper of leaves was easily detectable. The grass twisted and turned chaotically. The green fibres had adopted the appearance of ocean waves, aimlessly coiling together in the darkness. The moon above was large, illuminating the windy terrain. The night was absolutely terrifying. The wind was an evil entity. It was a phantom that haunted the town of Karakura. Nothing was silent. The whole world demanded to be heard.

Nanao closed her grey eyes in frustration. The wind was toying with her hair. It whipped and tossed her dark locks high into the sky. Every strand of ebony refused to stay in place. Nanao scowled and threw her hands into the air. Her fingertips swiftly found their way to the back of her skull. It took several moments, but the soul reaper eventually gathered her rebellious locks into a knot.

Nanao knew that the wind was a normal occurrence. It helped run the world and stabilize the weather. It was a natural force that could be found all over the planet. But tonight, there was something odd about it. Nanao could feel a lingering sense of unease surrounding her. It stroked her skin and alerted her instincts. The force of the air was screaming out a silent warning.

Nanao inhaled a sharply. She looked around the forest clearing wearily, before dispelling the air through her nostrils. Each exhalation flew through the wind in wisps, rapidly becoming apart of the windy landscape. Several strands of her hair fell from the clip at the base of her skull. They flew around her face in a swirl of ebony. Nanao frowned. Her hair was uncontrollable. It continued to dance around her cheek bones, framing her features in darkness for a second time.

A crack of laughter resonated through the clearing. Nanao repressed the urge to scream. Kido illuminated the features of several new recruits meters away from her. Their eyes were wide with mirth, shining with an iridescence that reviled the moon. They were foolish. Their faces reflected signs of blissful ignorance. She could tell by staring intently at their faces, that they had never experienced the caress of fear. They were ripe with youth. They had yet to truly acknowledge the duty of a shinigami.

Nanao quickly turned to face the group of shinigami. Their faces still reflected the faint glow of kido. Each burst of light created eerie shadows along the forest floor. They stretched and slithered silently in the dark. A shiver traveled up Nanao's spine. She winced and carefully observed her surroundings once again. Something was certainly wrong. She could feel a lingering chill in her veins. It was another warning, one that needed to be considered.

Nanao sighed and clenched her fists. Another laugh had traveled along the wind. It had danced and trickled through the air happily, deeply contrasting the dim forest environment. Nanao usually had a large tolerance level. She was able to deal with Kyoraku-taichou's relentless behaviour. But lately, her patience was wearing thin. Her taichou enjoyed watching her suffer with new recruits. For months, he had been sending Nanao to the world of the living. She was expected to teach young soul reapers the way of the shinigami.

Sadly, most of the recruits were idiots. They failed to see the importance of being silent or becoming one with the soul. They simply discarded the rules of combat and acted out of impulse. One such example, was her subordinates immature use of kido. They enjoyed casting spells that interfered with the extermination of hollows. Positions were constantly revealed and human souls were almost always injured. It was a miracle that no one had perished in the nonsense.

Nanao straitened her posture, preparing to speak. Bright sparks of blue light resonating from the undesirable kido, caressed her features. Her steel grey gaze was filled with distaste. Her eyes lingered on her subordinates for only a moment. The wind continued to lift stray pieces of her dark hair into the evening sky. They would all hate her seriousness. They would dislike her potent intolerance. Luckily, their disrespect would not last for long. They would soon see that her sober actions held significant meaning.

"I have had enough of this irrational behaviour! Demon magic should not be used for such impractical endeavours! Missions in the material world should never be taken lightly! Smarten up!" Nanao scolded in a harsh whisper, her eyes flashing in the dark.

The glow of spiritual energy instantly disappeared. Remnants of kido lingered on one of her subordinates hands for an instant, traveling along the flesh of his palm like rippling water. Nanao intently observed his glowing skin with distaste. The kido flickered and slowly trickled to the tips of his calloused fingers before disappearing in a flash of electric blue. The young shinigami stared at Nanao respectfully. She could easily see through it. They were angry. Confused. They were naive children.

"Prepare yourselves for danger. Draw your Zanpakutos and look ahead. Do not distract yourselves." Nanao stated calmly, looking deep into the darkness.

Nanao heard various groans and moans resound from an area behind her. She rolled her grey eyes slowly. It was typical for new recruits to behave inappropriately. They always seemed to dislike physical activity. Someday, Nanao knew that they would appreciate long hours of training. Every small, annoying, and exhausting hour eventually helped in the future.

"Let's go!" Nanao whispered loudly again. "Prepare yourselves! There is no time to waste!"

Eventually, Nanao heard the familiar ring of metal fly through the air. The sound was sharp and spread like wildfire in the forest clearing. A small smile of satisfaction found its way onto Nanao's lips. That was the first time her subordinates had followed her commands. It was almost satisfying, the feeling of relief. She thought they would never honour her requests.

After several moments, Nanao began to move forward. Her feet lightly brushed against the green grass on the forest floor. She gestured towards her fellow comrades to do the same. The wind continued to blow relentlessly in the night. The sound of the element was terribly alarming. It stole Nanao's breath like a thief. It took everything in the soul reaper to remain calm. Something weird was occurring in the forest. Sadly, Nanao had yet to discover what it was.

The lieutenant lead the new recruits to an area hidden behind some trees. She moved quickly in the night, trying to become one with the wind. It was difficult, but eventually she was successful. She could feel the wind brush against her skin and continue to play with her hair. It frustrated Nanao, but there was nothing she could do about the issue. Nature could not be controlled.

"Alright, everyone! Let's stop-"

Nanao froze. Her breath caught in her throat. A feeling of absolute dread seeped into her veins. What was that in the distance? Nanao immediately stopped moving. Her feet slowly came to a halt. A shadowy figure was standing along the edge of the clearing. The black mass was faint, but Nanao could easily detect its presence. It seemed to be frozen in time. It floated in the distance, playing tricks on Nanao's mind. She absentmindedly assumed that the lingering cloud was a hollow. It was a logical hypothesis.

Nanao blinked, trying to comprehend the bizarre imagery flickering before her grey gaze. The shadow consumed the darkness, dancing across the forest like a flickering flame. She could barley keep her gaze on the shape. It floated and darted around various tree trunks before disappearing in a flash of ebony.

Suddenly, a crack erupted loudly within the darkness of the forest.

Nanao turned her head around in a flash, stray pieces of her hair flying through the evening sky. One of her recruits had accidentally stepped on a dead tree limb. The sound reverberated through her head loudly, wreaking havoc within her mind. Her grey eyes were wide in disapproval. Nanao frowned, staring intently at the forest floor. Shinigami were suppose to be silent and still. Her recruits were loud, deeply contrasting the other shinigami she had trained in the past.

"Ise-fukutaichou?"

Nanao inhaled a sharp breath, meeting the nervous gaze of a startled brunette. She was the individual who had stepped on the tree limb. Her foot was positioned over the twisted hunk of wood hesitantly. She looked particularly startled. Her brown eyes shimmered with guilt. Her brown hair swayed gently in the breeze, flowing across the bridge of her nose and caressing her cheek bones. Her skin glowed dimly in the moonlight. The young girl was nervous.

"Fall back. All of you." Nanao murmured roughly. Her hand flew out and pointed in the direction of a nearby bush.

While Nanao directed her subordinates, her hand flew into the interior of her robes. Her fingertips shifted around savagely, determined to locate a particular object. The tips of her fingers gingerly brushed against a familiar surface. She sighed and swiftly removed her hand from her clothing. Her soul phone was perched in the palm of her hand.

"Fukutachiou!" Someone shouted quietly.

Nanao narrowed her grey eyes. Was it an impossible task to follow orders and remain silent? In thought, Nanao twisted her body towards the voice. She pushed her shoulders back and placed a finger against her lips. She could feel her own small breaths against the skin of her fingers. They were quick and smooth. It was almost as if she had taken a small run.

Nanao turned and glanced at her glowing soul pager. She had unconsciously flipped the device open. Various buttons glowed in the darkness. Pale white light emanated from the soul pager, illuminating her pale features. Her lips were pressed into a thin, spindly line. Sweat lingered faintly on her forehead, dampening her dark hair. A small map of Karakura Town appeared on the screen of the phone. Nanao stared at the monitor in disbelief. There were no hollows in the forest. The map remained empty, devoid of valuable information. Nanao frowned deeply. Her brow furrowed in frustration. What had she seen in the woods? A raw feeling of fear engulfed her heart. The lieutenant concluded that her soul pager must have been malfunctioning. There was something amiss. She could taste it on her tongue.

Nanao closed her soul pager quickly, stuffing the metallic device back into her shihakusho. She looked at her subordinates hesitantly, carefully observing their features. She could not disregard the heavy pressure of doom weighing down on her shoulder blades. It danced along her skin, eating way at her flesh like an unwanted sickness. Nanao shivered. Darkness was afoot. She could feel it.

Nanao sighed and shook her head. She had no choice. She had to scout the area. It was her duty as a soul reaper to investigate issues in the human world. It did not matter if she was training new recruits. They would have to learn how harness their instincts eventually. Nanao quickly walked towards her subordinates. Her fingers were clenched tightly against her sides.

"Recruits!" Nanao whispered loudly. Her voice was carried away in the wind. "I am going to scout the area. I need several volunteers to aid me in my search."

The young soul reapers stared at the lieutenant quietly. There was unwillingness in their eyes. It was an expression that disturbed the fukutaichou. She had expected them to come forwards. She didn't think her subordinates would silently refuse her request. In frustration, Nanao closed her eyes. She was going to give her taichou hell when she finally returned to soul society.

"This is a good opportunity. Scouting may not be an interesting task, but it's certainly an important skill to attain." Nanao said softly. Several of the soul reapers groaned in annoyance. Their shoulders were slumped in defeat. Nanao rolled her eyes. "Scouting is better than standing around and doing nothing. Come on! Any volunteers?"

A timid brunette, smiling nervously, appeared from behind a dishevelled looking shrub. She held her zanpakuto tightly, the blade gleaming a shade of silver in the moonlight. Her small fingertips were wrapped around the hilt of her weapon defensively. Her flesh appeared to be unblemished. She had yet to receive battle scars. Her skin shone white within the brisk evening air, smooth as the surface of a frozen lake. Small, jagged imprints from her zanpakuto's hilt were the only imperfections Nanao could decipher on her hands. The brunette was terribly young.

A small, half smile crept upon Nanao's lips. The girl was the only volunteer she could gain with her pleas for assistance. She was thankful. The brunette, a nameless recruit, was the only honourable individual in her group of petty subordinates. Nanao could see it in her brown eyes, a nervous emotion of respect. The small girl swayed anxiously in darkness, her feet shifted against the grass gingerly. Nanao beckoned the inexperienced shinigami forward.

"Stay put. All of you. Do not move from your positions. Do not flee. If anything goes wrong, contact Squad twelve immediately. Do not participate in anything foolish while I am gone. If so, Kyoraku-taicho will hear of your disobedient behaviour. Is that understood?" Nano whispered harshly, her glasses shining brightly against the gleam of the moon.

Her subordinates nodded their heads. Nanao nodded in return. The young brunette, warily situated between a patch of thorns, stared at her comrades in fear. Nanao watched the girl for a moment, pondering the repercussion of her actions if anything were to go horribly wrong. She tore her grey gaze from the soul reaper, intently observing the horizon. Various trees swayed in the breeze. The air was crisp and cool against her warm flesh.

Nanao closed her eyes and held her head high. There was no time to waste. She needed to discover the source of her unease quickly. She needed to make the dread in her heart disappear. Without a second thought, the lieutenant turned and addressed her comrade. "Let's move. This task needs to be done swiftly. I suggest you stay close to my side."

She opened her grey eyes and immediately began to move away from her recruits. A light breeze tossed her raven locks high into the air. The wind was not warm. It was cold, hostile, and cruel. It pulled at her clothes and fought its way under her skin. Even the wind was acting odd. It was nothing like before. It seemed to have calmed down dramatically. A worried frown found its way onto Nanao's face. She rapidly began moving faster. Her feet were blurs in the night.

"Ise-fukutaichou?"

Nanao didn't hear the girl addressing her. She was too focused on the woodland surrounding her. The darkness was moving. Everything was shrouded in a deep cloak of black. The light from the moon couldn't be seen. She honestly thought it didn't exist. The gloomy environment was playing tricks on her mind. The creaks and sounds of the forest made Nanao jump. Her fingers twitched impatiently. Where was the shadow?

Nanao shook her head. She ushered the brunette forward despite her questioning plea. Her slender hand waved through the darkness silently, embracing the cool evening air. She took a step forward, her sandalled feet silently collided with the forest floor. Small, insignificant cracks resounded through the forest. The leaves beneath Nanao's feet crumbled into dust. Her breathing was controlled and even. Small puffs of carbon dioxide floated through the dark sky. The forest was silent. All she could hear was the faint murmur of the breeze.

"Ise-fukutaichou?"

Nanao continued to ignore her comrade. Her whispered pleas were of no importance. The young warrior was obviously frightened. There was nothing Nanao could do to ease the brunette's spirit. The forest environment was horribly hostile and dark. Each shadow had transformed into a cloaked stranger. The darkness was an unpleasant entity that was waiting to strike.

Nanao continued to scan the area. The inky shadow was hidden well. If the figure was a hollow, it was using the darkness to its advantage. There was no spiritual pressure in the area to detect. There was no evidence of hollow activity in the forest. No footprints. No lingering traces of reiatsu on the forest floor. The woodland was a crime scene devoid of evidence. There was absolutely nothing to find.

Nanao scowled and clenched her fists. Her fingers slowly turned white from the strain. If there were no signs of danger, why was her mind screaming countless warnings? Why was her body prepared for battle?

"_Ise-fukutaichou!_"

Nanao stopped running. Her dark robes lurched forwards, hanging momentarily in the air like a frozen kite. She muttered several curses under her breath. What did the girl want? What could the brunette need at a moment like this? It was the girl's duty to observe the surrounding area. Why was she disregarding her assignment? Nanao breathed deeply in confusion. A strand of hair slipped onto her face.

"_Yes?_" Nanao stated in frustration. She quickly turned her head towards her subordinate.

An expression of pure horror was plastered across the girl's face. Her brown orbs were open wide and her lips were pressed into a hard line. The young soul reaper was holding her zanpakuto tightly, almost to the point of injury. Her limbs were positioned oddly. They were bent at a rigid angle, nearly resembling the crooked branches of a tree. The girl was literally cowering in fear. Nanao winced at the sight before her. It was truly terrible.

"What do you see?" Nanao questioned softly. Her voice was low and quiet. She did not want to scare the recruit any further.

The young girl looked at Nanao hesitantly. Her eyes shimmered faintly in the night. Where had the confident and honourable recruit gone? The girl standing before Nanao couldn't possibly be her. This young soul reaper was a child. A terrified little girl. Despite the uncertainty running through Nanao's veins, she waited patiently for an answer. It was almost as if the recruit was afraid to hear her own voice.

"On the ground... there is a... a footprint."

The young brunette warily pointed a trembling finger towards the damp ground. Beneath various tree limbs and decaying leaves lay an imprint of a human foot. Nanao could faintly detect the muddled indents of several toes. The heel of the print was deep and angular, situated between a maple leaf and a crooked twig. The footprint was messy, as if the owner had been running out of terror. Nanao slowly crouched down and cautiously touched the muddy footprint with her index finger. The ground was wet from midnight dew. Small traces of spiritual energy remained in the print, reminiscent of a diseased soul. Nanao concluded that the footprint was relatively fresh.

"This footprint belongs to a soul. They were running….from what, I do not know." Nanao said quietly, running her forefinger absentmindedly across the damp ground.

She peered at the brunette, staring deeply into her wide, brown eyes. She had not moved from her awkward stance over the print. Her hand continued to waver towards the soil. Her index finger shook delicately in the evening air, shaking back and forth like a trembling tree branch. The young recruit had become as silent as a rock. Her dark hair spun around her face chaotically, caressing the curve of her nose. Her breathing rate had increased. Nanao shook her head in vain.

"Ise-fukutaichou?" The recruit muttered, staring off into space.

Nanao frowned, prepared to answer the brunette's request. She opened her mouth slowly, inhaling a sharp breath of air. She looked around the forest curiously, attempting to decipher what lurked within the bracken. She cleared her throat softly, dispelling carbon dioxide through her nose. She could still feel faint traces of unease floating through the air like a sickness.

"Yes?" She stated quietly, intently observing the recruit with her steel grey eyes.

"T-T-There is someone s-standing over-"

The recruit was suddenly cut off. A high pitched scream resounded through the wooded area. It was a bone curdling sound. It creeped under Nanao's skin and boiled the blood in her veins. The shriek was unbelievably loud. The sound resounded through her mind like a siren, chaotically pealing through her subconscious. Nanao resisted the urge to cover her ears. She had never heard a noise like that in her entire life. It was similar to that of a hollow.

Nanao instantly looked up towards the direction of the scream. Her grey eyes hastily scanned the dark horizon. Goosebumps began to slowly form along her forearms. It had come from the eastern side of the woodland. Very close to the position she now held. Nanao looked down to observe the footprint once again. The individual who screamed must have created the impression in the mud. It was the only logical conclusion.

Nanao sighed and stood back onto her feet. She brushed off the dirt that decorated her dark uniform. Particles of soil tumbled towards the ground slowly. She took great care in avoiding a muddy patch that rested along the forest floor. She did not want to contaminate the evidence that remained trapped in the earth.

"We need to move. Whoever screamed needs our help immediately. Be prepared to fight."

Nanao turned to look at her comrade for confirmation, but reeled back in confusion. The brunette had not moved from her position at all. Her legs were parted and her zanpakuto dangled helplessly from her fingertips. The sword swayed softly in the wind, much like the pendulum of a clock. The soul reaper's arm continued to stretch out in the dark of night. Her hand trembled in the fresh air.

Nanao shook her head and moved towards the recruit. Her actions were swift and smooth. She gracefully glided through the forest like a ghost, seeking out the troubled brunette. The girl needed to calm down. If hollows were in the area, Nanao was prepared to fight and protect. Her recruit was available prey, considerably weak and frightened. Nanao could not afford to loose a comrade, despite how fragile her current partner was.

"There is nothing here to fear. Pull yourself together! Someone in this forest needs our assistance!" Nanao stated briskly, gingerly grabbing the dazed brunette by her shoulder blades.

The brunette remained as still as a stone. Her face was devoid of normalcy. All Nanao could see was fear reflected from deep within her dark brown eyes. Her face was tremendously pale. Freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose, abruptly standing out due to the dim pallor of her features. Her lips had adopted a lifeless tint of blue. Nanao did not expect the young girl to speak. She stared off into the distance as if she were in an induced stupor. Her voice, frail and broken, slipped through her pale mouth in a whisper of air.

"T-There is a girl, Ise-fukutaichou. S-She is on the ground. A-A shadow is looming over her. The shadow w-wields a weapon, Ise-fukutaichou-"

Nanao spun around violently. Her hair hung within the starry night sky like a halo. Her grey eyes darted through the darkness hastily, attempting to discover the imagery the young brunette had described. Her heart raced frantically within her rib cage. Her lips were slightly parted. She continued to stare deep within the bracken, in search of an enemy she could barely fathom.

A glint of metal.

The sound of a second scream.

She could see the girl. A blur with the darkness of the forest, bathed in silver moonlight. The soul was young. Her features were similar to a child's, for baby fat still lingered along the edges of her face. Faint traces of blood obscured her fragile features. The soul was strewn upon the ground lifelessly, a jagged katana protruding from her tiny chest cavity. The katana was real. It shone in the darkness like a beacon, capturing Nanao's grey gaze. The blade of the sword began to glow a blinding tint of white, presumably consuming the soul's spiritual energy. A scream of anger died in Nanao's throat.

She raised her hands within the darkness harshly, chanting a Kido spell under her breath. Her flesh began to glow an electric shade of blue, illuminating the forest in a flash of cerulean light. The darkness around Nanao began to move, slithering slowly towards her venerable form. She stared at the darkness, failing to comprehend how much she had miscalculated the situation. Her hands began to shake. Her breath began to quicken. She could feel it, the cruel caress of fear. It ate at her insides like a disease, plaguing her body with misery and weakness. She was young again. She felt like her recruit, aimlessly broken apart.

The diseased soul was gone, along with the silver katana. Blue flames, resonating from Kido that had originated from Nanao's hands, filled the forest with light. Her attack had been waisted. The young soul and the shadow had become nothing but an insignificant hallucination. Nanao groaned in defeat, lowering her pale hands towards the earth. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps, filled with over-lived fear. She slowly turned around to face her recruit, prepared to order the girl to contact Squad Twelve. She turned around slowly, attempting to catch her breath.

The brunette swayed back and forth like an unstable bridge. The silver katana protruded from her chest crudely. Blood seeped from the wound in thick rivulets, flowing down the front of her shihakusho in multiple tributaries. Her brown eyes reflected nothing but emptiness. Her extended arm had fallen from the air. It hung limply against the side of her body, frozen stiff from death. Small droplets of crimson slipped through the brunette's pale lips, undulating down her porcelain features. She teetered unstably against the breeze before collapsing into a heap of lifelessness on the ground.

"W-What?" Nanao breathed in shock. Her voice broke in the crisp evening air. "_Wait!_"

Nanao's body lurched forwards in desperation. Her feet moved with a blinding speed. She had to reach the young recruit. She could not be dead. There was no enemy. No hollow to be seen. The only hint of danger was the silvery zanpakuto that protruded from the brunette's chest. The whole situation made absolutely no sense. A shadow couldn't murder a soul reaper. It was impossible.

Nanao reached her comrade in an instant. She knelt by her side and attempted to bring life back into her broken body. Green hues of kido erupted from Nanao's fingers as she worked. After several moments, Nanao cried out in defeat. Tears of frustration threatened to flood her eyes. All signs of life had retreated from the girl's brown gaze. All that remained was an expression of pure horror and pain. Nanao could do nothing. She was dead.

In anger, Nanao clenched her fists and slowly picked herself up off of the ground. She shut her eyes slowly. Her limbs shook with fury. She had promised to protect the young brunette from peril. The soul reaper had entrusted Nanao with her life. Why had it been so difficult to keep her promise? Why had Nanao failed? The lieutenant took a deep breath and attempted to calm her nerves. She would discover who committed this crime. She would discover who wielded the silver zanpakuto.

Nanao opened her grey orbs calmly. She sighed and forced herself to observe the recruit once more. Blood was pooling around the girl in a flawless circle. The darkness of night seemed to creep up and embrace her lifeless body. Mud and gore clung to the shinigami's robes. It was a horrible sight to witness. Just as Nanao was about to look away when she froze in realization. Where was the zanpakuto?

Nanao didn't have any time to react. A flash of black suddenly crept into her line of vision. It was large and eerily dark. It was nearly invisible in the darkness of the forest. The shadow could have been mistaken for a branch or a bush in the night. In a panic, Nanao spun blindly and pointed two fingers in the direction of the intruder. She willed the power of kido to invade her fingertips.

_"Hado number thirty one, shakkaho!"_

A blast of bright red fire erupted from the palm of Nanao's hand. It lit up the dark of the woodland drastically. Every tree, branch, and blade of grass was consumed by a brilliant eruption of crimson light. The forest appeared to be bathed in blood. Nanao knew her spell wouldn't successfully hit its target. She had shot blindly in the hopes of striking the mysterious shadow. Despite the failure in the spell, Nanao was gifted with something else. Sight.

The forest had transformed into a crimson abyss of brightness. Various trees and shrubs shone incandescently in the dark. Nanao could see every imperfection and crack on each tree limb and leaf in the forest. Droplets of midnight dew hung off thousands of tiny blades of grass on the ground. The evening breeze caressed the trunks of multiple tree limbs, creating an applause of scratchy noise. The bracken had become a blood red explosion of clarity. Nanao could see everything.

She could clearly detect the bloody body of her dead recruit stretched across the damp ground. The dim pallor of her skin, gleaming like polished silver in the moonlight, attracted her gaze. The night sky, a wide expanse of starry blackness as far as she could possibly see, captured her attention. Nanao blinked, attempting to carefully locate her enemy. The light emanating from her hands completely eradicated the shadowy darkness of the night. Her enemy was vulnerable.

A flash of black. A gleam of silver. Nanao reeled backwards in surprise, lifting her hands higher into the night sky. The shadow that had plagued her vision earlier was not an illusion. The expanse of darkness that had haunted her vision was not a figment of her imagination. It had been real. It had been tangible. She could see it clearly within her steel grey gaze. The shadow was a disguise. A man lingered beneath the blackness of a shadow, a shadow that enabled and consumed spiritual pressure. She had been stupid. She had been blind. There had never been a hollow. Her soul pager was operational.

The shadowy man was the wielder of the jagged, silver katana. It soared through the evening air in a rush of power. It sliced through the night sky in search of flesh and blood. Nanao stumbled backwards, struggling to regain her composure. She situated her hands carefully in front of her body, preparing to utter another incantation. She crossed her slender fingers carefully. She lifted her pale, white hands towards the moon, in search of the shadow man's cloaked body. The katana was nearing her fragile figure. The blade gleamed brightly in the moonlight.

A large bout of wind screamed across the forest and man beneath the disguise was revealed.

Nanao lost her resolve. A soundless scream flew through her lips in a crescendo of endless air. She could not breathe. She could not think. Her mind uttered endless proclamations of betrayal and anger. Her hands fell through the evening air rapidly, falling towards the earth in a concession of speed. Her fingers slipped apart, unlinked and unprepared for a kido incantation. Her black hair fell free from the clip situated at the back of her skull. It flew around her face in an endless stream of ebony. The katana, free falling through the sky, ripped across the palm of her hands violently. Nanao screamed in pain.

She fell to the ground, cradling her wounded hands across her chest. Blood poured from her flesh in endless waves, streaming down her wrists and arms in vast torrents of crimson. The shadow man, a man she had once called comrade, landed several feet in front of her bloody form. She bit her lip fruitfully, attempting to hold back sobs of pain. Her hands had become tattered appendages of skin, no longer reminiscent of what they once were. He had hurt her. He would continue to hurt her.

The jagged katana hung limply in one of the man's hands. Blood dripped off of the blade, gradually slipping down the silver sword to the forest floor in droplets. His hand tightened on the hilt of his zanpakuto as he neared Nanao, preparing to cleave her body into a bloody pulp of striated flesh. She was defenceless. She could no longer preform kido. Her wounded hands enabled her capabilities tremendously.

Nanao whimpered and attempted to slide her hand up her sleeve. Her final resort was her zanpakuto. It rested along the inside of her left arm, waiting patiently to be used. Despite her efforts, Nanao failed. The pain was too much. Her fingers refused to grasp the hilt of her weapon. In desperation, Nanao thrusted her arms out defensively. Her limbs shook with the effort. Fiery paths of crimson roared down her skin.

Nanao watched helplessly as the traitor approached her frail form. The man smiled and suddenly drove his zanpakuto deep with in the flesh of her stomach. Nanao screamed in absolute agony. Pain ran throughout her body in waves. It burned through her skin and bubbled in her veins. Nanao continued to shriek until her voice was rendered useless. Any noise that slipped through her lips soon became loud gasps of air.

Nanao moaned and crumpled towards the ground helplessly. Whips of grass tenderly brushed against the torn remains of her shihakusho. The feeling of metal still lingered along the skin of her stomach. Blood poured from each and every one of her wounds. Tears of pain and betrayal slipped down the contours of her face. Nanao was broken. No one was around to pick up her scattered pieces.

"My dear Nanao-chan," A voice murmured softly in the darkness. A hand reached out to gently brush a strand of her hair. "What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to encounter you this evening. How horribly unfortunate."

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** A/N: Hello, everyone! My partner and I decided to finally type up the first chapter of this story! As you readers can see, it is rather dark. But hey, at least there's a cliff hanger! :) Have fun figuring out who the bad guy is! Any guesses?**

**We would like to thank everyone for reading the prologue! We never thought it would get so many views! A special thanks goes to BleachLover2346, and any other readers who followed this fic! You put smiles on our faces. :) **

**Please review guys! Feedback is appreciated! We need to know if this story should be continued.**

_**Important**_**_ Note:_ This story is set just before the soul society arc. In other words, before Aizen openly displays his insanity. :)**

**~IronEclipse**

**-CrystalShardsOfRain**


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